Wednesday, September 10, 2008

La Vina access status

On April 22, 2008, the Honorable Joseph F. De Vanon ruled in favor of the
County in the case of County of Los Angeles v. La Vina Homeowners
Association (HOA). Judge De Vanon rejected each and every one of the HOA's
defenses to the County's position that the trails were promised to the
people in the development process and concluded that the promises must be
fulfilled.

The Court has ordered the HOA to dedicate trail easements in the locations
indicated in the development documents; the County will be responsible for
construction and maintenance of the trails. The County was also awarded
$46,338.42 to cover litigation costs and is additionally asking for
$789,833.84 in attorneys' fees. The fee motion will be heard on September
18th.

As expected, HOA has filed a notice of appeal. Whether or not the appeal is
actually pursued by the HOA remains to be seen; appeals are usually not
successful and the HOA risks an additional huge fee and costs award.

This is a tremendous victory for the public. Our thanks are due to the
County and specially County Counsel Scott Kuhn who tried the case for the
County and Marie Campbell of Sapphos Environmental whose work and testimony
were key in the victory.

STAT vs. LA VINA

STAT's case against La Vina has been postponed to see what happens with the
County's case and is currently scheduled to commence before Judge De Vanon
on February 17, 2009. We will keep you updated when we have more
information.